"Rewards!!"
Kaios's face lit up instantly at the mention, his eyes gleaming with slight anticipation.
No one would have believed this was the same boy who bore that crazed expression during the first trial— or the same one who once radiated arrogance and pride before his own reflection.
Raion let out a scoff, filled with amusement. "Do you think I'm that cheap, boy?" His tone laced with a teasing edge.
"And that too, to my first disciple?" He added with it.
Kaios averted his gaze when he heard it, the anticipation in his turned to slight guilt.
To tell the truth, he truly hadn't expected any reward from Raion. As deep down, he had already accepted that this was not about rewards, but about proving his own worth.
"Sorry, master." Kaios said as he bowed his head at Raion.
"Hahaha…" Raion laughed heartily when he saw Kaios's bowing.
"Don't worry about that, my boy. I was only teasing you." He smiled faintly, "Expect good rewards ahead— with each milestone you crossed set by me."
Kaios straightened himself, with a large smile streched across his face, as he said "Will do master."
To which Raion only nodded, before speaking again, "Okay, now here's your rewards." Then he snapped his fingers.
As the sharp sound of the snap echoed, three boxes materialized before Kaios, out of nothing.
There was no portal this time, no ripple in the space like when Clement did it; it was as if these boxes had always existed there from the very beginning— hidden from his gaze till now.
"These were three boxes contain thre rewards, corresponding to the each trial you had passed." Raion said, as he signalled Kaios to open these.
Kaios crouched slightly, curiosity flickering in his violet eyes as he reached for the first box.
It was sleek, obsidian-black with faint silver lines pulsing along its edges—like veins. The moment he opened it, a gentle hum escaped from within.
As a soft azure glow spread out, illuminating his face. Inside he found a shimmering blue ticket, its surface rippling like liquified glass, constantly shifting between matter and light.
The ticket looked fragile, yet something about it radiated changes— like the space around it was being bent slightly.
Kaios blinked once as he saw, a faint breath escaping from his mouth. "This looks... Magical."
But he didn't remain there, his hands moved to the second box— this one heavier, with its cover having a metallic finish.
He slowly unlatched the box, as he opened it. Then he saw inside, rested two perfectly spherical alloy cores, each about the size of his palm but denser. One having a silvery shimmer, while other was riddled with veins of purple all around it.
Kaios's hand hovered over them, feeling a slight pull of gravitational field of one, tugging faintly at his fingers. "These are…" He muttered, his voice laced with awe. As he already has slight doubt about these, and if it was right, then he got some good things in his grasp.
Then finally, Kaios turned to the last box. It was smaller and simpler than the others—crafted from a smooth ivory-white material. It was unblemished and untouched by even the smallest mark.
His fingers then moved with deliberate care, as he slowly lifted the lid open, revealing his last reward.
But this time there was no shock or any other expression on his face, instead his face bore an expression of familiarity. It was an object that he used previously.
The object inside was a bracelet of silver colour, with a hour glass on the middle of it. Its edges glowing faintly, reflecting the light of sun.
Kaios stared at it for a long moment, while his face being reflected faintly on its surface.
"It's that Arifact… huh.." he whispered under his breath.
Raion, who had been quietly observing the boy's every expression, from the very beginning— finally spoke. His tone remained calm.
"The first one," Raion gestured to the blue ticket, "is a Dimensional Key— an access key to Plain of Trial. You can use it to revisit any trial realm— provided you have the energy to withstand it. It also has a limit of two times a day."
Kaios's eyes widened slightly at that. "So I can return to the Plain of Ever-Changing?"
Raion nodded, smiling faintly. "Yes, if you wish to."
He then focused his gaze at the second box. "These two alloy spheres are Unique Ranked Alloy Seeds. They will adapt to your Psion and Path— forming new alloys as you nourished. Treat them like living cores; they'll grow stronger with you."
Kaios looked down once more at the spheres, a glint of admiration flickering in his eyes. He had harbored some doubts from the very beginning, when he first saw them—but now that he understood what they truly were, his mind was well above the heaven.
As a metal path user he had already searched for best alloys, and their properties to check ones better suited for him to use. And there he came across these— The Alloy Cores.
These were known as Zenith Ores among those who walked the Metal Path— and rightfully so.
As even the lowest-tier Zenith Ore could embody two distinct properties at once, a feat no ordinary alloy or metal could achieve.
But the main reason these were dubbed as Zenith was because of their second ability— their ability to upgrade the properties with the growth of its user.
And the ones in Kaios's possession… were unique, because these could embody upto six properties per one core.
Kaios was now too happy because even though it was hard to got the proper nourishment he could have the twelve properties with these two, and these twelve properties will also be upgrade with him.
"And finally," Raion said, interjecting the joyful thought of Kaios, as he gestured to the bracelet, "the last one is something you know of… but a bit different."
Kaios raised the bracelet carefully, as he heard Raion spoke. His violet eyes reflecting it shimmer, as he held it in front of his eyes,.
"Its" Raion continued, " true name is Chrono Veil— an artifact forged from the sands of the stilllight dimension itself. Its ability was also different from the trial one that you had used." He paused for a bit.
"Unlike the Recorrect ability, this one extends perception to such an extreme that time itself appears to halt— effectively for half a second." Raion spoke to Kaios.
Before adding again, with a hint of humour this time, "Though will not be effective as you will advance, so don't rely on it everytime."
Kaios smirked lightly. "Wouldn't dream of it, Master."
Raion chuckled. "Good. Because that thing reacts poorly to arrogance." teasing him for his outbursts in the trial.
Kaios embarassed as he heard it from Raion, before looking once more at the three rewards laid before him— each glimmering faintly, while carrying a piece of his growth through the trials. His lips curved slightly as he exhaled, whispering,
"…Worth every suffering."
"Okay with this the trial is effectively over for you, take rest for a day." Raion stated "Because after that your training will start." He said with a smile on his face.
Kaios nodded to it, but as he saw the smile on his master's face all his senses started to buzz. Still he calmed himself and replied.
"Yes, Master."
Raion said nothing—only snapped his fingers, sending Kaios away from the hall in an instant.
As the light faded, a faint smile lingered on his face.
"I'll be waiting, Kaios," he murmured softly. "To see how you'll change the fates of those around you in the days to come."
... ... ... .... .... ... ...
A/n: Sorry for the delays. I shifted to a dormitory recently, and here the network is poor. Only way i could use the internet was by using their Wi-Fi, but due I am new, I had to wait somedays to got my official ID. Also, the contract was rejected, which set me back a little.
And That's all. Sorry to hear all these blabbering from me.